Brittney Griner trial - live: Wife describes ‘gut-wrenching time’ in rally with Al Sharpton

US basketball star Brittney Griner will take “full responsibility for her actions” to set an example to her fans, her Russian legal team said after she pleaded guilty to a drug charge in a Moscow court on Thursday.

The Olympic gold medallist’s lawyers hope that the plea will help her avoid a severe sentence and enable her to return home sooner.

Shweta Sharma has the story.

Reverend Al Sharpton will join Cherelle Griner, Brittney’s wife, as well as WNBA players, ahead of the league’s All-Star Game this afternoon in Chicago at a press conference following the two-time Olympian’s guilty plea in the Moscow court.

The press conference will gather people together to say “We are BG” and urge mercy and leniency to be granted on Ms Griner in her highly politicised trial in Russia.

They will also call on other faith leaders to continue to pray for Ms Griner as she faces up to 10 years in a penal colony.

“Brittney has admitted to making a mistake, and I hope the Russian authorities recognise that humbling act and respond with compassion,” said Rev Sharpton. “She is in the fight of her life right now, which is why we’ll be in Chicago to show our support for Brittney and for the Administration and their efforts to bring her home as soon as possible. We must all continue to pray she finds strength through this challenging time.”

Earlier this week, Rev Sharpton requested the Biden administration arrange a ministerial visit to Russia for him and other faith leaders to meet and pray over Griner. Her family has expressed concern for her well-being after more than four months in jail following her February arrest at a Moscow airport.

In April, the US State Department classified her as “wrongfully detained,” and because she is being used as a political pawn, will negotiate for her release regardless of the legal case.

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to Cherelle. During the call, the White House said, Biden read a note to Cherelle that he planned to send Brittney in response to her handwritten plea for freedom. That note was delivered to Ms Griner in court Thursday shortly before she pleaded guilty.

The press conference is scheduled for 4pm CT (5pm ET) this afternoon.

Rev Al Sharpton joined Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC on Wednesday to discuss why he is calling on the Biden administration to arrange a prayer visit for faith leaders to meet with WNBA star Brittney Griner in Russia.

Russia’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday that US basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia on drugs charges, may appeal her sentence or apply for clemency once a verdict has been delivered.

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Alexei Zaitsev said in a briefing: “The court must first deliver its verdict, but no one is stopping Brittney Griner from making use of the appeal procedure, and likewise asking for clemency.”

Mr Zaitsev said: “Attempts to present the case as though the American woman was illegally detained do not stand up to criticism.”

In May, the US State Department designated Ms Griner as “wrongfully detained”.

Ms Griner, who had been playing for a Yekaterinburg-based club during the off-season, was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on February 17 on drugs charges that carry up to ten years in prison.

Russian official said that cannabis-infused vaporiser cartridges, which are illegal in Russia, had been found in Ms Griner‘s baggage. Her trial began on Friday and continues tomorrow.

Reporting by Reuters

WNBA star Brittney Griner was on her way to Russia to play basketball when customs officials allegedly discovered contraband in her bag.

According to the Russians, Mr Griner allegedly packed hashish oil in her bag, likely in the form of a vape.

It was that discovery that led to her now five month detention in Russia. On 1 July, Ms Griner appeared in Russian court for the first time and faced charges of smuggling less than a gram of hash oil inside of her luggage.

But what is it?

The abrupt guilty plea by Brittney Griner, the Phoenix Mercury center and two-time Olympic gold medalist, came amid a growing chorus of calls for Washington to do more to secure her freedom nearly five months after her arrest in February for drug smuggling amid rising tensions between the US and Russia over Ukraine.

A senior Russian diplomat said earlier that no action could be taken by Moscow on Ms Griner’s case until the trial was over, and her guilty plea could be an effort by her and her advisers to expedite the court proceedings.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov bristled at the official US description of Ms Griner as “wrongfully detained” and warned that “attempts by the American side to make noise in public ... don’t help the practical settlement of issues.”

Washington hasn’t disclosed its strategy in the case and the US may have little leverage with Moscow because of strong animosity over its actions in Ukraine. The State Department’s designation of Griner as wrongfully detained moves her case under the supervision of its special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, effectively the government’s chief hostage negotiator.

Asked about the possibility of Ms Griner being swapped for a Russian jailed in the US, Mr Ryabkov noted that until her trial is over “there are no formal or procedural reasons to talk about any further steps.”

He warned that US criticism and dismissive comments about the Russian judicial system, in addition to the description of Ms Griner as wrongfully detained, “makes it difficult to engage in detailed discussion of any possible exchanges.”

“The persistence with which the U.S. administration ... describes those who were handed prison sentences for serious criminal articles and those who are awaiting the end of investigation and court verdicts as ‘wrongfully detained’ reflects Washington’s refusal to have a sober view of the outside world,” Mr Ryabkov said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexei Zaitsev said on Wednesday that the crime Ms Griner is charged with is “a serious offense, confirmed by indisputable evidence”.

“Attempts to present the case as if the American was detained illegally do not hold up,” he said.

“The law has been violated, and arguments about the innocent nature of Griner’s addiction, which, by the way, is punishable in some US states, are inappropriate in this case,” Mr Zaitsev concluded.

WNBA star Brittney Griner, 31, has been detained in Russia since February after drugs were allegedly found in her luggage by officials at a Moscow airport.

Her detainment occurred shortly before Russia launched its war in Ukraine, with geopolitical tensions making it undoubtedly more difficult to secure her release.

Graig Graziosi recaps what has happened so far.

Right-wing commentators have called out Brittney Griner for her past protests about the national anthem being played ahead of WNBA games, now that she is relying on the US to help free her from prison in Russia.

In 2020, in the aftermath of the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, Ms Griner was just one of many WNBA players who did not take to the floor for the playing of the anthem prior to games.

Ms Griner said she would not be on court for the anthem for the full season.

Per The Arizona Republic:

“I honestly feel we should not play the National Anthem during our season,” said Ms Griner, one of the top players in the WNBA and second in 2019 most valuable player voting. “I think we should take that much of a stand.

“I don’t mean that in any disrespect to our country. My dad was in Vietnam and a law officer for 30 years. I wanted to be a cop before basketball. I do have pride for my country.”

“I’m going to protest regardless,” she said. “I’m not going to be out there for the National Anthem. If the league continues to want to play it, that’s fine. It will be all season long, I’ll not be out there. I feel like more are going to probably do the same thing. I can only speak for myself.

“At the Olympics, I understand, you’re playing for your country at that point.”

Now that Ms Griner is on trial in a Moscow court and asking for help to avoid lengthy incarceration in Russia, right-wing author Nick Adams and former Trump administration figure Sebastian Gorka both tweeted words to effect that they bet she could hear the national anthem now.

Brigitte Gabriel, founder of ACT for America, tweeted: “Brittney Griner despised America until she needed rescue.”

Another post states: “She protested that National Anthem... she is on her own.. why is she asking help from the same country she protested!”

“She got her wish. Now she doesn’t have to hear the USA national anthem,” says another.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that Ms Griner is in the Correctional Colony No. 1 outside of Moscow, a former orphanage rebuilt a decade ago to serve as a prison for women awaiting trial and women serving their sentences. The Russian government has not confirmed Ms Griner’s whereabouts.

The Times reported that the facility is artifically lit, with “gray painted halls and grim tall walls” and that Ms Griner is also not the only foreign national held at the facility known as IK-1 for drug possession in recent years.

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